In many situations, MR will be less biased than conventional multivariable regression (or similar) approaches to exploring causal relationships with observational data but will have less statistical power.
Large consortia used for MR studies and the increasing availability of publicly available summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) that can be used in two-sample MR can provide greater (and often adequate) statistical power for detecting hypothesized effect sizes.
References
- Yarmolinsky J, Bonilla C, Haycock PC, Langdon RJQ, Lotta LA, Langenberg C, et al. Circulating Selenium and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2018; 110: 1035-1038.
- Pierce BL, Ahsan H, Vanderweele TJ. Power and instrument strength requirements for Mendelian randomization studies using multiple genetic variants. Int J Epidemiol. 2011; 40: 740-52
- Brion MJ, Shakhbazov K, Visscher PM. Calculating statistical power in Mendelian randomization studies. Int J Epidemiol 2013; 42: 1497-501.
- Zheng J, Baird D, Borges MC, et al. Recent Developments in Mendelian Randomization Studies. Curr Epidemiol Rep 2017; 4: 330-345.
Other terms in 'Sources of bias and limitations in MR':
- Assortative mating
- Canalization
- Collider
- Collider bias
- Conditional F-statistic for multiple exposures
- Confounding
- Exclusion restriction assumption
- F-statistic
- Harmonization (in two-sample MR)
- Homogeneity Assumption
- Horizontal Pleiotropy
- Independence assumption
- INstrument Strength Independent of Direct Effect (InSIDE) assumption
- Intergenerational (or dynastic) effects
- Monotonicity assumption
- MR for testing critical or sensitive periods
- MR for testing developmental origins
- No effect modification assumption
- NO Measurement Error (NOME) assumption
- Non-linear MR
- Non-overlapping samples (in two-sample MR)
- Overfitting
- Pleiotropy
- Population stratification
- R-squared
- Regression dilution bias (attenuation by errors)
- Relevance assumption
- Reverse causality
- Same underlying population (in two-sample MR)
- Vertical pleiotropy
- Weak instrument bias
- Winner's curse